At more than 100,000 tons, laden with warplanes and missiles and with 5,000 men and women aboard, the American Nimitz Class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt anchored at Portsmouth has British defense chiefs talking down military cuts.

The Roosevelt – known to
her crew as Big Stick – is currently moored off Portsmouth
because she is simply too big to dock in the port.

Serving alongside the thousands of US sailors and marines, as
part of an exchange program, are six aircraft handlers and a
navigator from the Royal Navy.

In a statement on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) website,
Britain's First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir George Zambrellas, lauded
the US-UK defense relationship.

“It is excellent to see US Navy carrier steel in
Portsmouth.

“And in barely two years we will see UK carrier steel here
too,” he said, referring to the UK's two carriers, HMS Queen
Elisabeth and the planned HMS Prince of Wales

“We warmly welcome the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike
Group – a reflection of the close partnership between our nations
and navies, and the value of credible sea power in support of our
shared national interests.”

The carrier is in the UK for five days, having made the initial
transatlantic leg of her round-the-world operational mission to
project US military power around the globe.

But the arrival of so potent a symbol of American might comes at
a time when civilian and military defense chiefs on both sides of
the Atlantic are airing their concerns over Britain's willingness
and capacity to commit to the symbolic NATO contribution of 2
percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon downplayed fears.

“The USS Theodore Roosevelt’s visit shows yet again that
UK/US relations are as close as ever. Ten days ago, I was the
first of his counterparts to meet incoming Defence Secretary Ash
Carter.

“Having the Roosevelt in Portsmouth today is yet another
example of the world’s broadest, deepest and most enduring
defense relationship at work. I’m thrilled to be going aboard
today to welcome the crew personally.”

Yet behind this Atlanticist ardor, a narrative of fear over
defense cuts has come to dominate in recent months.

Writing in the Telegraph on Monday, Fallon sketched out the broad
range of threats he believes Britain confronts.

“In Eastern Europe, Russia is subverting democracy – seeking
to change international borders by force and destabilizing a
sovereign state,” wrote Fallon.

“In the Middle East, the ISIL (Islamic State) death cult is
spreading a new form of fascism in its warped drive to create a
caliphate spanning Syria and Iraq. And in Africa, another
jihadist franchise, Boko Haram, is causing chaos in northern
Nigeria and along its borders.”

Yet he downplayed concerns about impending strategic impotence,
and to some extent buttressed the view on defense taken by Prime
Minister David Cameron, writing: “Our Armed Forces now rest
on firm financial foundations.

“National security is underpinned by economic security, which
is why we have gone from a £38-billion black hole in the defense
budget left by Labour, to a properly funded £34-billion-a-year
budget. After taking some tough decisions, we still have the
largest defense budget in the EU and the second largest in
NATO.”

“We are one of only four NATO countries meeting the target to
spend 2 percent of our GDP on defense and we will do so this year
and next.”

In early March, US Army Chief of Staff General Raymond Odierno
said he was “very concerned” about military austerity
given the deeply “uncertain global environment.”

“We have a bilateral agreement between our two countries to
work together. It is about having a partner that has very close
values and the same goals as we do,” explained Odierno at
the New America Foundation’s ‘Future of War’ conference.

“What has changed, though, is the level of capability. In the
past we would have a British Army division working alongside an
American army division,” he added. Cuts mean the US Army now
expects Britain to provide only half its previous commitment.

Despite fears of British military decline – many of which were
expressed in a much-hyped but poorly attended Commons debate on
defense reductions two week ago – UK defense spending remains the
sixth highest in the world.